Iraq repatriates en masse families of IS jihadists detained in al-Hol camp

In the Kurdish al-Hol camp, families prepare to leave the camp on September 14, 2021. © DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP

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An official Iraqi delegation on Thursday registered the names of several dozen families of Islamic State fighters from the al-Hol camp in northeastern Syria, in anticipation of their repatriation to Iraq in the coming days, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

This is the fourth repatriation of Iraqi nationals since the beginning of 2022.

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More than 600 people from the families of jihadists from the Islamic State group will be repatriated to Iraq.

Since the beginning of the year, nearly 3,000 Iraqi women and children have returned to their country under an agreement between Baghdad and the Kurdish autonomous administration, which manages the al-Hol camp, located in the south from the province of Hassaké, in northeastern Syria.

The families of IS fighters have been brought together in this huge camp which currently houses 60,000 people of around 20 nationalities, the majority of whom are Syrians and Iraqis.

Iraq is the only country to have started the massive repatriation of its nationals, as desired by the Kurdish authorities.

Since the beginning of this year, only 600 Syrians have been able to return to their towns and villages.

Thousands of others are still held in this camp where the Islamic State group reigns terror.

Thirty people suspected of cooperating with camp administrators or foreign NGOs have been killed in the past eight months, reports the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Most Western countries refuse to systematically repatriate their nationals.

At the beginning of July, France had taken in 35 minors and 16 women of French nationality, thus breaking with

policy .

►Also read: The leader of the Islamic State group in Syria killed in an American drone strike

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• Syria

• Iraq

• IS

• Kurds